Post navigation

One bit of pigeon-holing I will always argue against is that the Joe Shuster Awards are mainstream (i.e. superhero) comics awards and it’s a shame that we were identified in that manner in the one book out there on Canadian comics, I think we prove — year after year after year — that we are as inclusive of all published and distributed comics featuring work by Canadians as possible and we go beyond that by including webcomics and self-published works. In certain categories there may be more genre comics featured than in others, but in others you’ll see more works by creators producing personal works, there is room for both. Which is why I always argue that we are an inclusive award, not a mainstream one.

One thing that the awards intend to do is support comics retailers, and we also have the retailer award, of course, to showcase some great shops across the country. In the core categories we nominate creators whose books can be ordered, promoted and sold to your clients. In some cases (BD, certain books not orderable from Diamond) they are not easily obtainable, but we can certainly point retailers in the right direction to carry those nominated and winning books. Canadian retailers should consider including works in other languages to expand their customer base, and since we are a bilingual nation, having both languages featured makes some sense (and you can see the work being produced in both languages is fantastic), so I urge retailers to look at everything nominated.

The only disappointing aspect of what we do with the awards is that we have to narrow the lists down to a select number of nominees. In some categories there are dozens of creators who could easily be among the top seven or eight, but because we can only have 7 (or 8) nominees each year some people will not be included. You may see a person win one year, and then not be nominated the following year – because the awards are for outstanding creators – it isn’t a competition for best, but for finding work that “stands out” on the racks and shelves, and online.

Watch for the official nominees announcement next week on this site, nominees will be announced on Saturday, June 5 at a panel at the Niagara Falls Comic Con.

Share this post:

Early Wednesday morning friends and fans were shocked to learn that Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame member TY TEMPLETON was in hospital following a heart attack. His wife, Keiren Templeton-Smith, sent out the following update yesterday.

I don’t have Ty’s way with words or images so I can’t cushion this news within a funny Bun Toon, but Ty is currently hospitalized after having suffered a heart attack. I’m sorry to tell everyone in a Facebook post but it seemed the easiest way to reach everyone who might need to know. Email me if it’s important but at this time, our family is concentrating on Ty.

In the early hours of Thursday, April 16 she sent out another update:

Ty is still in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator. The plan is to take him off both the sedatives and the ventilator tomorrow. If you wish to send Ty a message you can email him (tybunny@gmail.com) and I will make sure he sees them when he is able. He is in critical but stable condition. His location will change in the next few days depending on his condition.

Everyone here at the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association wishes Ty a speedy recovery and are hoping for the best possible outcome. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ty and his family during this stressful time.

Share this post:

The CCBCAA would like to wish cartoonist Dave Sim a speedy recovery from his diagnosis of Secal Vulvulus, which required emergency surgery yesterday.

Sim, who had been dealing with issues with his hand, checked himself into hospital yesterday after experiencing extreme discomfort and pain in the morning. The diagnosis required immediate emergency draining of the intestine and he had to have an emergency right hemi-colectomy, which is the removal of the right side of the colon.

He is currently recovering in hospital in Kitchener, Ontario.

Share this post:

We are still looking for sponsorships in order to cover costs associated with putting the awards on. We are happy to announce that we have a new sponsor as of March 17th — online retailer ALL NEW COMICS will be sponsoring our two community awards – the TM MAPLE AWARD of which two individuals are selected from the community for their contributions to Canadian comic book culture.

Share this post:

You’ve probably been wondering why there have been few announcements about the 2015 awards. That’s because at this time, the Joe Shuster Awards are out of funds. I have had to pay out of pocket for the remaining 2014 costs and cannot afford to privately sponsor the costs of doing the annual Joe Shuster Awards.

We will continue to proceed with preparations for the 2015 Awards, but at this time we cannot commit any financial resources towards the awards.

At this time we are looking for Canadian businesses who are interested in sponsoring individual awards. We also accept donations. Donations and sponsorship does not imply influence over the nominating and judging of the individual awards.

Kevin Boyd

Share this post:

The start of a new year and some free time on my hands, and I decided it was time to update the Retailer information on the site. It had been about three years since the last update (Director’s note: I had been editing entries on a one by one basis when people sent information in or I knew about it, so it wasn’t completely neglected. ~Kev), so there had been a bunch of changes (and thank you, I don’t need anymore emails regarding the Silver Snail’s move) that needed to be reflected. But the real impetus behind this update is that the wife and I are heading to the annual ComicsPro meeting in Portland, OR.

This is the most important comic event of the year for retailers as it has a 100% business focus, meetings and presentations with publishers and suppliers and distributors and retailer colleagues, rather than the carnival atmosphere of a comic convention. Jennifer will be giving a presentation on how to grow your comic retail business through kids comics, while I will use this opportunity to bring the Canadian market into focus for these business partners, especially given the risks that are present with a $0.75 dollar, and projections by the international banking community that we could hit $0.60 in no time. Make no mistake, when you’re buying in Canadian dollars and selling at US listed prices, things are dangerous. Not every customer will understand it, but retailers need to increase prices to reflect the weakness of the dollar, but beyond that the fact is that retailers will become more risk adverse on product selection as a non-sale, or misselection error, compounds things much more rapidly. Cash flow is king in the comic retailing business.

Maybe by reminding these business partners that there are over 320 accounts in Canada, reflecting approximately 15% of the market (as the current thought is that there are 2600 comic shops), will give us some help in the coming months. Or maybe not. I hope to do some surveys with other Canadian retailers about the coming low-value-dollar-days, how they see their business and how they will deal with the results.

There have been a lot of new stores pop up across Canada in the last couple of years, and a lot of established stores upgraded facilities and increased space, taking on higher costs of rent and square footage and staffing. “Investors have very short memories,” said Roman Abramovich, and the same can be said of comic retailers who survived the early 2000’s. Here’s hoping that a low dollar jump starts the Ontario manufacturing base and the 36 new comic shops that have popped up can stay open. The pessimist in me predicts that we will see 40 shops across Canada close in the next 2 years.

– Strange Adventures Halifax moved into a new location along the waterfront (now located at 5110 Prince St, Halifax, NS B3J 1L3)

– Quantum Frontier moved across the street (now located at 3132 Robie St. Halifax, NS B3K4P7), this new location has allowed the addition of a cafe

– Batter’s Box in Truro closed after 27 years!. The small town of 12,000 people couldn’t support two comic game stores. When I spoke to the owner, Ralph, in 2012, he had moved comics to subs only. The comic business had shrunk and was no longer a focus. My doff my cap to the fact the shop made it 27 years.

Comic Book Lounge + Gallery, Toronto – Announced closing April 30, 2015. Sponsor of these awards. (Director’s note: this is my shop. Since our lease is up, our neighbours didn’t want to renew and I don’t want to move to a new location in the current climate, so I’ll maintain the storefront online for now and do local shows as the Lounge. ~Kev)

1 Store Removed – Raven’s Toys on St. Mary’s has been rebranded as the above Cobra Collectibles

13 Total Stores currently open as of January 2015

News: – Cobra Collectibles has risen from the ashes of Raven’s. Raven’s underwent a name change and rebranding, becoming Cobra Collectibles. The Raven’s Portage location closed and the St. Mary’s location moved up the street (now located at 2984 St. Mary’s Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2M 3S1)

Maxx Collectibles has moved into a new location (now located at 835 Cavalier Drive, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2Y 1C6)

Brandon, MB saw the most activity in comics retail: I Want That Stuff opened up in Brandon, while two other shops (Arkham Asylum Comics Collectibles and Maluga’s Memorabilia) both opened and closed between reviews.

Share this post:

Many thanks to Ron Kasman for sending me this article for the site (back in October no less). It has also appeared elsewhere online, primarily the Collector’s Society Message Boards. I’m running it here as is, unedited, as I asked him if I could re-publish it here as it gives a fairly accurate look at what the comics scene was like forty years ago. Heads up that Ron’s language and perspective on what transpired is a little spicy and may offend some.

A little preface: before Cosmicon, Toronto hadn’t really had much of a convention scene.

In 1968, Captain George Henderson – owner of Canada’s first comics shop, Memory Lane, had brought Stan Lee to the city for the Triple FanFair (no doubt inspired by the convention of the same name that had been taking place in Detroit around the same time – the three fandoms in the name being science fiction, movies and comics). That event took place in tents on Markham Street (where Memory Lane used to be and currently where the Beguiling is). For the most part Canadian comic fans of this era in this region had to pile in a car and drive to Detroit, Chicago or primarily New York to attend a comic book convention. What happened at York University was pretty amazing and was the highlight for many young fans, a lot of whom would go on to work in comics or related things.

I should note that I see some of the folks mentioned here pretty regularly. Ron and I visited the New York Comic Con together this last October, and stayed with our mutual friend Walter Dickinson. Ronn Sutton just had a graphic novel published last week, and you can find him as a guest at many Canadian shows, primarily in Ontario and Quebec. I see Ken Ketter nearly every Saturday night when he comes by for his comics fix, he’s one of my regular customers at the Comic Book Lounge, here in Toronto.

COSMICON: 1972-1975

A Tell-All Expose by Ron Kasman

Steranko Poster for Cosmicon I

FLASH:
Steranko’s surrealistic, day-glo poster for Cosmicon,
distributed free in 1972,
just went for $212.00 Am. on Ebay!

CANUCK COMIC HISTORY LIVES!

In January of 1972 Cosmicon was potentially a horror show, both literally and figuratively. What saved it, in the immortal words of Howard Chaykin, was “Canadian Bacon”.

Ken Ketter was a horror film fan, a university sophomore who chose York Fine Arts over his old job at a soap factory, and the most courageous man I’ve ever met. He applied to Winter’s College of York University for $600 to put on a comic book/ SF/ horror movie convention… and they gave it to him!

I was a Winter’s student too, at least I was until I dropped out and couldn’t find a job even in a soap factory. I told Ken I’d help out. I brought in fan artist Ronn Sutton and fan publisher Mark Segel. Gloria Agnew was hired to do administrative work. Many, many others contributed to the convention. We invited Jim Steranko (comics), Gray Morrow (SF) and Alain Resnais (film) as our guests. We paid for their plane tickets and expected them to be the only celebrities in attendance.

As the big day approached things were all set to become a terrible mess. Hundreds of fans were coming in, some from as far away as Quebec, Ohio, Michigan and even Germany and we just didn’t have a lot going on to entertain them. As the VW minivan drove off to Toronto International Airport to pick up our guests, Mark Segel looked anguished and annoumced, “I wish this wasn’t going to happen”. But, what do you know, it went very well. Here’s why: European comic art was getting noticed in the U.S. through Jim Warren’s Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella magazines. Outside of that, most European comic art was inaccessible. The New York comic artists’ community (as well as most Americans, it seemed) was so ignorant of what Toronto was like that they naturally assumed that we all spoke French and that they’d find lots of comics by Philippe Druillet, Jean Giraud and others up here. When they arrived, the invited guests and many more that paid their own way — soo-prise!… no European comics! They should have phoned ahead.

Well, you’d think they’d have been disappointed but other factors entered. Cosmicon was probably the first comic convention ever held at a university. Back then, all the little fanboys like me treated the New York Comic Book artists like they were gods. So the girls who lived at the Winter’s College Residence (and would never ever sleep with a pimply creep like me) figured these guys from New York had to be important! The comic artists, not unlike rock stars, had gained a perk not known to us lesser beings — groupies! These comic geeks, by the sheer fact that they could draw better than the rest of us and whose faces had probably only recently cleared up, got laid!

Furthermore, the part of the convention not held in the Winter’s Women’s Dorm Rooms was held at the Absinthe Pub just steps away from our dealers’ room. Aside from the beer there was lots of dope which could be consumed with impunity on the liberal arts campus.

The next year the artists returned bringing friends, displays and slide shows. By year three Cosmicon was the place to be. Among other attendees that year were Jim Warren of Warren Publications; Carmine Infantino, editor-in-chief at D.C., Stan Lee from Marvel; Michele Eury, comic editor at Playboy and P.J.O’Rourke, the editor-in-chief of National Lampoon. There were so many big time pros that if the Absinthe beer had been teeming with salmonella, comics today would look quite different.

But Cosmicon became a political issue. Students at the left leaning university (which like North Korea, Cuba and Albania is still probably babbling about the truth of communism to this very day) thought too much money was being spent by the university for the benefit of Americans. Furthermore, the ever increasing budget shifted the convention to being student administered instead of fan administered. Most of the people who had ran it were about to graduate. Also I still wasn’t getting laid. Why bring Americans up to score with girls who’d have nothing to do with me?

Year Four was Cosmicon’s swan song. The budget was $24,000. This is back when a comic book cost $.20, a chocolate bar was dime and a year of university tuition was $600. We were the front page headline in Friday night’s Toronto Star. Pete and Geets, a popular comedy duo of the day, satirized us on their morning show on CHUM-FM and later came down as convention guests. We were the talk of the town.

Cosmicon II art by Michael William Kaluta

Memories:

Talking to Stan Lee for about an hour at a cocktail party. He was a tall, handsome man, dressed in high boots and suede. I stared and stared but I honestly couldn’t tell that he was wearing a wig.

Hippy comic scribe Steve Skeates being questioned at the border until they phoned the university and were told that he was a respected writer coming to York University to lecture.

T. Casey Brennan, Vampirella scripter, coming to Toronto and not knowing just where Cosmicon was taking place (we neglected to put the exact location in our first ad). He took a chance and asked a random geek on the subway and, of course, he knew!

Jeff Jones and Vaughn Bode together in a photo in the program book — as men!

Alain Resnais sticking the convention with unexpectedly high food and hotel bills.

Buying a $10 EC Portfolio from Ed April’s widow only because she was doing no business and as an organizer I felt responsible. It is worth about $200 today.

Ron Peterson, Winter’s student and perpetual life of the party, getting more attention than Jones, Wrightson and Kaluta put together.

Ken Ketter inviting Alice Cooper and being turned down then getting Ted Nugent and Amboy Dukes. They had had a hit with “Journey to the Center of Your Mind” but had yet to emerge with “Cat Scratch Fever”. I think Ken paid them $1100 for the concert. Admission was free with a Cosmicon pass.

Harry Kremer, comic book dealer, buying a stack of Wrightson coloured drawings at $50 to $100 each. His estate sold them thirty years later for more than 50 times that.

So where are they now? The people involved in Cosmicon became famous, dead, washed-up, struggling, jailbirds, real estate salesmen, comic artists, teachers, musicians, collectors, legends, rumours, and painters of motorcycle gas tanks and the sides of vans. Some of us grew up and some of us never would. Cosmicon was fun but looking back, it was hard to be nineteen. It was even harder to be nineteen and a comic fan. Back then I wished I was Jeff Jones and so did hundreds of other little geeks just like me. We lacked his talent, intelligence and drive. I was pretty sure at the time that he got a lot of action from the females at Cosmicon though now, it seems rather ironic, as he’s clearly crossed the gender boundary in recent years. Nonetheless, I’m absolutely sure he got to see Jody Winthrop’s tits because she posed naked as a model for his National Lampoon IDYL comic strip. She had great tits. I wonder what they look like today. They are probably still pretty good.

Share this post:

Today in Guelph, ON’s Santa Claus parade there will be a superhero themed float, covered with paintings of notable Canadian heroes by Jay Stephens and featuring cosplayers dressed as Canadian superheroes. It will be followed by an event at the Eisner Award-winning shop The Dragon, who are also sponsors of the Dragon Award handed out annually as part of the Joe Shuster Awards.

From the press release:

At 1.45pm the grand parade opener will set off. Canadian Superheroes such as Wolverine, Superman, Nelvana of the Northern Lights, Arrowhead, Captain Canuck and Equinox will be showcased on a float built by Turtleshell Studios. Event organizer Sam Jewell says ‘people might know that Wolverine is Canadian, but lesser known is the fact that Superman was co-created by a Canadian and Clark Kent first worked at the Daily Star, based on the Toronto Star. Also his hometown of Metropolis was based on Toronto’.

One of the two female superheroes, Nelvana of the Northern Lights, was Canada’s first ever comic book superhero in 1941 and was based on a real-life Inuit woman. Cecile Lyall, who will play Nelvana at the parade, is from the same community as the original Nelvana and is excited to travel to Guelph for the parade. ‘She was a role model in my community and I’m very proud to be here and show her to the people of Guelph’.

An event at award-winning comics and games store, The Dragon, will give parade-goers the chance to meet with their superheroes. Based in the warmth of Old Quebec Street Shoppes, the store will run the event directly after the parade and will have Captain Canuck costume creator Kalman Andrasofszky signing for fans, as well as Nelvana historian Hope L Nicholson to tell us all about Canada’s first female superhero. Also in attendance, local illustrator and creator of Arrowhead, Jay Stephens.

Share this post:

To follow-up on a recent story, we here at the Joe Shuster Awards are saddened to learn of the passing of ROBERT JOSEPH CHARPENTIER, the owner of Toronto’s Comics & More shop on Danforth Avenue.

Rob or Bob as he was known to his friends and customers, was a long-time fixture on the Toronto comics scene, having owned Shining Knight comics, later renamed Comics & More. He had been a comics retailer for over 20 years.

In the late summer Rob had been diagnosed with a brain tumour after experiencing a series of excruciatingly painful headaches. The tumour was removed, but while undergoing adjuvant treatment it was discovered that the cancer had spread and could not be treated. In September Bob made the announcement on his store blog.

Rob passed on Friday, October 17th. Viewing and service will be held on Saturday, October 25th.

CHARPENTIER, Robert Joseph – Quietly in his sleep at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre after a short battle with cancer at the age of 54. Brother to Stephen Douglas (Elaine), James Thomas (Lynda) and Edward Anthony. Beloved uncle and granduncle to his numerous nieces and nephews and their children. Predeceased by his parents Douglas Charpentier and Evelyn Dame and his sister Sarah Hacker. He will be dearly missed by his whole family, as well as his family at ‘Comics and More’. Visitation will be held from 12-2 p.m. on Saturday, October 25, 2014 at the HERITAGE FUNERAL CENTRE, 50 Overlea Blvd., 416-423-1000, with a memorial service in the Chapel at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations to the

I was saddened to learn about Rob’s illness a couple months back. He was unable to work at the store anymore, but continued reading. One of his fears near the end was not getting a chance to see the end of Grant Morrison’s long anticipated Multiversity project. (It should be noted that when I reached out to DC Comics about this they helped connect Grant with Rob. Grant spent nearly an hour talking to Rob on the phone in his hospital room. DC and Grant’s kindness was not lost on Rob or his friends at the store, and was a real bright spot for Rob near the end).

This is such a wonderful example of people helping people. Rob was very excited to see where Multiversity was going and worried about missing it’s conclusion, but after the operation, Rob could no longer read (the removal of the tumour had affected his ability to read), so this is an even more wonderful story, in that Grant Morrison was able to tell him about the project, and about how it ended.

Share this post:

It’s with a heavy heart that I must report some unfortunate news that I’ve known about for a little while…

Rob Charpentier is the owner/operator of Toronto’s Danforth Avenue store Comics & More. Comics & More has been around in various incarnations since 1987.

Unfortunately, back in the summer Rob was diagnosed with progressive brain cancer, a situation that he recently shared with his friends and customers on his store blog a few weeks back.

Not sure what you may have heard around the store, but the reason you haven’t seen much of me lately is due to my hospitalization, Just a warning to anyone reading these words, if you suffer from occasional migraines and they suddenly increase in intensity and frequency – get to a damn hospital quick. A brain tumor is not something you can tough out.
It has been strange what has been going through my head lately, well, other other than radiation and scalpels that is. I am worried that I might not see the end of Grant Morrison’s Multiversity series – even if they manage to keep it on schedule – it’s six months away. More of a worry if the store will still be open at that point. I have limited options; I can try and sell, shut it down or just kind of fade away. I will not be able to work in the store again but I will try and do what’s fairest for all the loyal customers who’ve been with me over the years.
i will try to update you more often

Rob is currently undergoing palliative treatment and is under observation. Friends, like his former business partner Peter Fisico (online retailer All New Comics) who have visited him say that he remains positive and upbeat. At this point, the future of the store is uncertain, as it’s unlikely that Rob will be able to return to the store. Thankfully friends and staff have been keeping the business going for him.

I’ve known Rob for a long time, mostly from my days as a show promoter, but I have visited his various stores over the years and I’ve always found him to be a friendly, warm guy always happy to talk comics and discuss the business of comics retailing and shows. I regret I haven’t seen him for while, since he stopped exhibiting at events, but I know many people who call Comics & More their home store, and everyone in the community is distraught over the news and wishing the best for Rob. It can’t be easy.

Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. The winners were presented September 6, 2014 in Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con.

Throughout the year, the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association (CBCAA) works to maintain an accurate list of active comic book stores and a database of recommendations, referrals and secret shopper reports.

A separate Retailer Award Committee overseen by Scott VanderPloeg and Anthony Falcone reviews the data and selects a short list of stores that have shown merit in a variety of categories. In June we announced the 10 finalists for the Harry Kremer Award and they were:

Amazing Stories (Saskatoon, SK)

Another Dimension (Calgary, AB)

The Comic Hunter (Moncton, NB)

Imaginaire (Quebec City, QC)

Comic Readers (Regina, SK)

The Comic Shop (Vancouver, BC)

Paradise Comics (Toronto, ON)

Conspiracy Comics (Burlington, ON)

Timemasters (St. John’s, NL)

Stuff 2 Do Toys & Games (Iqaluit, NU)

Since that announcement, all of the retailers were asked to provide details about their business and why they should receive the Kremer Award for Canadian Comic Book Retailer. After reviewing the data received, the five finalists are:

Amazing Stories (Saskatoon, SK)

Comic Readers (Regina, SK)

Another Dimension (Calgary, AB)

The Comic Shop (Vancouver, BC)

Timemasters (St. John’s, NL)

Congratulations to all! This year’s list has very strong western Canadian representation with 2 stores from Saskatchewan, 1 from Alberta and 1 from British Columbia.

The winner will be announced in Toronto at a ceremony that will take place on Saturday, September 20th.

The Harry Kremer Retailer Award, is named after the late owner of Kitchener, ON store Now & Then Books. Kremer’s store was one of the first comic book specialty shops in North America and Kremer has a tremendous impact as a retailer, aficionado and patron of the sequential arts.

Previous Winners:

2005 – Now and Then Books (Kitchener, ON)

2006 – Strange Adventures (Halifax, NB)

2007 – Happy Harbor Comics (Edmonton, AB)

2008 – Big B Comics (Hamilton, ON)

2009 – Legends Comics (Victoria, BC)

2010 – The Beguiling (Toronto, ON)

2011 – Librairie Planète BD (Montreal, QC)

2012 – Silver Snail (Toronto, ON)

2013 – Heroes (London, ON)

Share this post:

On the weekend of August 28-31, we will be presenting the 10th Annual Joe Shuster Awards for Canadian Comic Book Creators and three new inductees will join the ranks of the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame, and they are:

CY BELL (1904-197?) Cyril Vaughn Bell was born in Peterborough on October 5, 1904. By the time he was six the family was in Toronto where his father worked as an Electrician for the local Streets and Railways. In 1929, along with his brother Eugene, he organized Commercial Signs of Canada mainly as a sign painting company. During the last half of 1941 and at the instigation of one of his young artists, Edmund Legault, Cy Bell’s company began putting out Canadian comic books to fill in a void caused by a parliamentary ban of the importing of American comics into the country that was put in place at the end of 1940. His first title was Wow Comics, and in the ensuing months he followed with six more titles, including Dime, Active, Joke, and Triumph Comics featuring such iconic characters as Nelvana of the North, Johnny Canuck, Speed Savage, Thunderfist, and The Penguin. In March of 1942, the company was incorporated as Bell Features and Publishing Company Ltd. and with its famous, trademark bell logo, the company’s output came to form one of the most recognizable set of books in Canadian war time production. During its peak years Bell Features produced about a hundred thousand comic books a week and employed over 60 artists. In 1947, Cy Bell wound up his company and turned the printing side of it over to his brothers leaving us one of the finest legacies in Canadian comics. Bell Features would continue without him until 1953. Bell himself operated a small resort hotel in Crystal Beach, ON until the mid-1960’s, at which time he returned to his roots and opened a small-scale sign business which he ran until his passing in the mid-1970’s.

EDMOND GOOD (1910-1991) Edmond Elbridge Good was born on July 1 (ironically, now Canada Day then Dominion Day in Canada) 1910 in Saco, Maine to parents originally from the Maritimes. The family returned to Canada when Edmond was 10 and settled in Hamilton, Ontario. Edmond received his art training there and was hired as the first Art Director by Cy Bell for his comic publishing business. Good created his best known strip, Rex Baxter, as the lead feature for the new title Dime Comics in Feb. of 1942. He continued producing this feature and all the covers for Dime Comics until issue 13. After Adrian Dingle, Good did the greatest number of covers for Bell Features (Wow Comics 8-13, Commando Comics 1-6, and others. Good continued to work for Bell Features, even after Cy Bell hired Adrian Dingle as Art Director in the spring of 1942. Good also did a number of Canadian pulp covers during this period. He then left for work opportunities in the U.S. in late 1943. From 1944-46 he took over the “Scorchy Smith” newspaper strip from Frank Robbins and also worked on “Phantom Detective” in Thrilling Comics. Good was the original artist on “Tomahawk” when the character began in Star Spangled Comics in 1947 and worked on Dagar Comics from 1948-9. His longest run, and perhaps favourite work, was on Monte Hale Comics for Fawcett from 1949-53. In the mid-fifties he started his own small publishing company called Good Comics Inc. and created Johnny Law, Sky Ranger for its short run. He continued to do commercial art and wrote radio and television scripts in the fifties. At the end of the fifties he had moved his family to Florida hired as the Art Director for Tupperware at their head offices there, a position which he held until his retirement in 1974. In 1977 he moved from Orlando to Altoona, PA. Edmond Good passed away on Friday, Sept. 13, 1991.

TY TEMPLETON (1962-) Few comic artists, Canadian or otherwise, have had the consistent and varied career of Ty Templeton. Born on May 9, 1962, Ty blazed on the comic scene in 1984 writing and drawing the Vortex Comics series, Stig’s Inferno, a modern take on Dante’s The Divine Comedy. Ty eventually took on the role of editor of Vortex Comics, overseeing various series including the company’s flagship title, Mister X. A talented storyteller, Ty has worked for almost every major publishing company writing or drawing an array of well known characters including Superman, Spider-Man, Star Trek, The Simpsons, She-Hulk, Howard the Duck, Ren & Stimpy, Scooby Doo and a celebrated run on Batman Adventures. Ty was the Editor in Chief of Canadian publisher, Mr. Comics, hiring almost exclusively Canadian talent to produce the critically respected series, Revolution on the Planet of the Apes, Hoverboy, and Dan Slott’s Big Max. In addition to being a popular, gregarious ambassador of comics at Fan Conventions Ty is helping to train the next generation of Canadian comic artists through his popular series of comic book writing and drawing classes, Ty Templeton’s Comic Book Boot Camp. Presently Ty is the artist of DC Comics’ Batman ’66 Meets The Green Hornet and has a weekly webcomic ‘Bun Toons’.

Established in 2004, The Joe Shuster Awards are Canada’s first national and bilingual award recognizing outstanding achievement in the creation of comic books, graphic novels and webcomics. The awards are named after pioneering Toronto-born artist Joe Shuster who, along with writer Jerry Siegel, created the iconic super-powered hero, Superman. The name is used with the approval of the Estate of Joe Shuster – Michael Catron, Estate Agent.

Speaking of DC, they continue to provide Justice League Canada variants of Justice League United which are the preferred version to get at many comic shops. It’s also written by Jeff Lemire.

Later this month we’ll have some more details on the Harry Kremer Award finalists (narrowing down the selection from 10 to 5), and on our 2014 Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame Inductees.

Canada Day has come and gone, but the media was awash with stories about Canadian superheroes, Johnny Canuck, Brok Windsor, and in particular, Captain Canuck. The good Captain is getting a new comic book series later this year, hopefully you were able to get your free Captain Canuck Canada Day comic!

Share this post:

Post navigation

About Us

Comic books, like Jazz, are a North American invention that has been embraced all over the globe --- and from the Platinum Age to the present, Canadian artists, writers and cartoonists have been shaping it along the way.

The Joe Shuster Awards celebrate Canadians who create comics at home or abroad. They are named after Joe Shuster, the Canadian artist that co-created a character that has had tremendous impact on the industry and the world.

The Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association seeks to identify and provide FREE resources on the who, what, when and where of Canadians working in comics, selling comics, and celebrating comics.

What if a Canadian Creator Moves Away? Joe Shuster, Hal Foster – are they really Canadian?

Is Superman Canadian? Our position.

Taking us beyond the New Frontier: Darwyn Cooke (1962-2016)

Positive Spirit and Determination: Debra Jane Shelly (1974-2014)

Jerry Robinson (1922-2011)

Thank you, Jerry. We will miss you.

2014 Winners were announced on September, 2014 in Toronto (click image to see results)

2014 Winners Announced in Toronto

2013 Winners were announced on August 24, 2013 in Toronto (click image to see results)

2012 WINNERS ANNOUNCED ON 9/15/2012 IN MONTREAL (CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR DETAILS)

2011 WINNERS ANNOUNCED ON 6/18/2011 IN CALGARY (CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR DETAILS)